K1HIPSTER M.B.P.M.C WORLDWIDE NEWS

Centenarian Facebook User Adds a Few Wrinkles to Site

At age 105, Edythe Kirchmaier is Facebook's oldest registered user.
Kirchmaier, who is also California's oldest licensed driver and the University of Chicago's oldest living former student, joined Facebook last month. Direct Relief, a medical aid charity where she's volunteered for 40 years, set up the account in honor of her 105th birthday.
"I've been contacted by such wonderful people and received such nice messages and pictures from people all over the world," Kirchmaier said. "I'm so humbled by all the interest in me."
Born into the age of telegraphs and rotary dial telephones, Kirchmaier said she embraces social media because it allows her to check in daily with friends and family. She said she's especially interested to see how many people log on to light a virtual candle in her honor, a symbol they've liked the fan page of Direct Relief.
"I'm hoping to get 105,000 likes for the page," she said.
The page currently has 77,000-plus likes.
Kirchmaier herself already has more than 20,000 Facebook friends. She lists the University of Chicago, the actress Jane Lynch and the Cheesecake Factory among her "likes." Pokes don't seem to be her thing.
While the centenarian said she cherishes her Facebook relationships, she still believes in the power of the pen. Every Tuesday she heads over to Direct Relief's offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., to hand-write thank-you letters to the charity's donors.

"She physically writes the letters herself, and I think her handwriting is better than mine," noted Hannah Rael, a media relations associate for the charity.
Seniors 'Friend' to the End
While Kirchmaier is the oldest person on Facebook, she is hardly the only senior to embrace social media. The social site's demographics have grown steadily grayer over the past few years.
Retirees age 65 and older are the fastest-growing group of social networkers on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace, according to a 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. The report found that 40 percent of Internet users older than 65 use Facebook, up 150 percent since 2009.
Golden-agers are also signing onto Twitter in record numbers. In 2009, only 5 percent of Internet users in the 50 to 64 age bracket had used Twitter, or some other status-update service. It's now up to 11 percent.
Kirchmaier said she didn't yet have a Twitter account but finds the idea of communicating in 140 characters or less intriguing.
"I just may give it a try," she said.
Seniors log on to social media to stay in touch, reconnect with people from their past and seek support for chronic health conditions, the Pew report found. A University of Alabama at Birmingham study suggested that Internet use was associated with a 30 percent decrease in depressive symptoms among older adults who used it regularly.
"One of the greatest benefits of social media for older people is learning they're not alone," said Kristi Grigsby, director of communications for the website ageingcare.com. "It helps them focus their attention on something other than being old."
"This is how I keep in touch with friends, children and grandchildren. ... I enjoy just checking Facebook every day and seeing the pictures that have been added and reading some of the messages. ... I still exchange emails with my high school friends and some of my former students. ... It keeps me from getting lonely," wrote one 85-year-old on an Aging Care forum.
Another Aging Care user suggested that senior social networkers equip themselves with assistive technology, such as large print keyboards and accessibility settings to make it easier to get online and stay connected. But Joe Buckheit, Aging Care's president, warned about the potential danger for seniors who cruise social sites: They're frequently targeted by "granny scammers," con artists who've caught onto the fact that older folks are flocking to social media to share details about their personal lives.
A common "granny scam" is "the relative in distress": A thief grabs personal information from an elderly person's Facebook page, then phones the person masquerading as a loved one who's gotten into an accident and is in dire need of cash. The Federal Trade Commission reported that 60,000 complaints about this type of fraud were filed last year.
To protect elders, Buckheit advised making sure they are aware of the scam. Instruct them to ask detailed personal questions if they get a call from a panicked relative and to hang up and call the relative back on a known number. They need to verify the information with another relative. If the caller says to keep it a secret, that's a red flag.
If they've already fallen prey to a scam, Buckheit said to stop payment on any checks or wire transfers immediately and contact both the police and the three credit bureaus to let them know there's been a possible crime committed.

Tenn. man quits job after '666' stamped on W-2

 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee maintenance worker says he quit his job because his W-2 tax form was stamped with the number 666.

Walter Slonopas told The Tennessean that accepting the number would have condemned his soul to hell. That number is considered the "mark of the beast" in the Bible's Book of Revelation describing the apocalypse.

The company that handles payroll for Contech Casting LLC says the number meant Slonopas' form was the 666th one mailed out.

The 52-year-old Slonopas says he had trouble with the number before. He was supposed to be assigned No. 668 to use when he clocked in. Because of a mix-up, he was assigned 666. He complained and got a new number.

A company spokesman says Contech would send a new W-2 and wants to rehire Slonopas. But Slonopas says "God is worth more than money."

Rent-a-Boyfriend" Service Popping Up in China

A company in China is now selling fake boyfriends for those women who are returning home for the Lunar New Year holiday and want to avoid being nagged by parents about finding a partner. 

It's not just for the holiday, but Lunar New Year is expected to be the company's busiest time, as this is a day where young people are expected to visit their family members. 

"Young people both want to go home yet are afraid to go home," said Meng Guangyong, 29, owner of the boyfriend-broker business. "If they haven't found a partner yet, when they go home parents will nag them or send them on blind dates or find someone to introduce them to people."

While selling kisses, affection, and dates does not seem to be very family-oriented, the service actually helps young singles address traditional values like respecting their elders and meeting their demand to find a mate. 

An ad for the site reads: "Not getting any younger and still dreading facing the nagging parents? Need a boyfriend to face the family? Your parents worked so hard to raise you, bringing a boyfriend home is the best way to repay them."

Finding love in the highly populated country has grown more difficult as many young people are working long hours, leaving their stable hometowns for bigger cities, and living among strangers. 

As the economy has grown over the last few decades, so have the expectations for marital partners. 

Men are struggling to provide the things they are expected to provide in a marriage, like a house, a car, and a good job. 

These difficulties result in many young women being called "shengnu," or "leftover women," after they turn 27 and are still single. 

"It's not like in the West where the individual is very independent, and their love life has nothing to do with their parents," Guangyong said. "China cares more about the family point of view. Parents must be made happy."

People interested in getting a fake boyfriend can purchase a whole package for 1,000 yuan, which includes chatting, eating a meal, and talking to elders. 

For an extra fee, the fake boyfriend will hold hands, hug and kiss.